Company of Heroes
by Poof double poof
Summary: A Half elf named Aneira is invited by Gandalf to join the Company on their quest to reclaim Erabor. Struggling for acceptance from the scrutinous dwarves, Aneira faces challenges she never expected to face. Learning her true identity and gaining many injuries. Will everything turn out fine in the end? Will she find her place among the the dwarves and perhaps finding a little love?


Company of Heroes.

Chapter 1.

A pair of dark brown eyes.

It was dark.

And cold.

And wet.

What a joyous night.

I pulled my cloak tighter around myself and huddled closer to the horse as I rode past the houses.

It was a neat little town, I believe it was called Hobbiton. The houses were mainly all built into the sides of hills. The gardens neatly trimmed and colourful. A nice town, but not somewhere I'd want to live.

APPARENTLY the Hobbit Hole would be easy to find, according to Gandalf anyway. But of course it was easy to find for him. He was a bloody wizard with a built in GPS. And magic. Don't forget the magic.

"Where the hell is it?" I exclaimed loudly, startling the horse I was riding, Estel. "Sorry girl," I muttered, stroking Estel's neck comfortingly in an attempt to calm her down. After tapping Her side softly with my shoe, Estel continued to move silently through the town of Hobbiton. That's what I liked about elven bread horses. They were beautiful, swift, and silent if need be.

I was just beginning to give up my search for the hobbit home of which my dear friend, Gandalf, had spoken of, when a glint of blue caught my eye.

I turned my head quickly and caught sight of a fancy home. It's door was a dark green, and inscribed into it was a glowing, light blue symbol. Bingo.

"And the wizard said it would be easy to find," I muttered to myself, shaking my head in disappointment. After Tying Estel out in the front garden with all the other ponies, I made my way to the front door. Just as my hand raised to knock, I caught the sound of deep, majestic and strangely familiar singing.

Just as I heard the melodies stop, I knocked on the door sharply. Everything inside the house and out, went deadly silent. I brushed off my shirt as heavy footfall approached the door. It was time to meet my companions.

Kili P. O. V.

"... To find our long, forgotten gold."

The song finished, and I looked around at everyone. Fili winked at me and smirked over the head of Balin. I swear my brother had issues.

Only a couple of seconds had passed when sharp knocking brought us all back to our senses.

"Everyone is here Gandalf, who is that?" Thorin asked suspiciously.

"Yes, who indeed. Only thirteen answered our call. And thirteen are here," Balin added.

"Am I not allowed to invite anyone myself? I've found you the best bowmen in middle earth. You should be grateful. Wait here and I'll go get them," Gandalf replied nonchalantly, amusement clear in his eyes, and walked off.

Everyone in the room exchanged curious glances with each other.

"Do you know who it is?" I asked Bombur. All he did was grunt in answer, he really was a pig.

Voices carries their way to the living room where we all were, and I was shocked by the strange voice.

"Greetings Mellon nin (Greetings Friend)," a fairly feminine voice chimed quietly. It was beautiful and I found myself wanting desperately to see the owner of it.

"Mae govannen, Aneira. Mae govannen (Welcome, Aneira, welcome)," Gandalf replied happily. The two voices got louder as footfalls alerted us to their approach.

"Were they speaking elvish?" Dwalin whispered in question to Thorin. In response, Thorin growls angrily and didn't answer. I find myself worrying, Gandalf didn't have the stupidity to bring an ELF to this gathering... Did he?!

As the wizard and the owner to the voice round the corner, there are gasps among the other dwarves and myself. Many are of disbelief, whereas mine was of amazement.

The girl standing before us was roughly my size, if not slightly shorter (I was slightly taller than the average dwarf). Her long, silvery blonde, hair hung in slight waves around her face, covering her pointed ears. Her eyes were a sapphire blue, and they sparkled in interest and anger as she looked at us. She had long, strong looking, well balanced limbs and a slim figure. The turquoise blue shirt and black trousers she wore clung to her body in a way that made her seem even more beautiful. This woman was one word and one word only. Perfection.

"You dare welcome an enemy into our midst, Gandalf?" Thorin accused in anger. I shook myself out of my daze, how was she an enemy?

"I fail to see the problem, Thorin," Gandalf replied simply. Thorin growled.

"She is an elf," he spat the word out disdainfully, "and she is not welcome here."

"Is it because I'm an elf, or because I am a woman?" The girl, Aneira, I heard Gandalf call her, spoke up.

"Both," Thorin stated simply.

"That's outrageous. Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I can't be here. And just because I'm an elf doesn't mean I am your enemy. I have done no harm to you in any way," She countered.

"That can be challenged," Dwalin muttered quietly. I shot him a death glare, and he shut up. Wait, was I suddenly defending this elven stranger?

"Get out of here. I will not have any unskilled, treacherous, female elf on this quest. Leave," Thorin ordered. Everyone stared at him, dumbstruck. Now that was beyond rude, even for a dwarf.

Aneira's P. O. V.

I can't believe he just said that. That stupid, stubborn, know it all dwarf just attempted to get me out of the quest. Well he can just take those orders and shove them where the sun don't shine.

"No no no! She is not leaving. It's raining, and I will not allow a guest to suffer in the rain; invited or not!" A small, timid man protested. I assumed he was the hobbit Gandalf had spoken so fondly of.

"Fine. But after tomorrow, she's gone," Thorin relented. The tone in his voice said that the conversation was finished, and I didn't have a say in it. I huffed loudly and went to follow the hobbit as he beckoned to me, probably taking me to a room where I could stay.

"What if she could prove she was better than any in this company. That she was worthy of this quest?!" Gandalf inquired. I froze, what was he up to?

"That's impossib-"

"Let her duel one of the finest swordsman in this room. And then tell me if she's allowed to stay. If she beats him, I choose. If not, you do," Gandalf continued. I stared at him, mouth agape. He did NOT just say what I thought he had just said.

"Gandalf…" I muttered warningly. He just looked at me for a moment, before his eye lit up and I could immediately tell that he, being Gandalf, was up to some type of mischief.

"Very well then. Fili, come here. You'd better not stuff this up." Was Thorin's answer after a moment's hesitation. He muttered the last bit more to himself than anyone.

The dwarves started moving around the room, shifting furniture and forming a large circle. I stepped into it hesitantly, was it a trap?

"Fili. Do us proud," An older dwarf stated as he pushed a younger looking dwarf into the circle. We both froze as we stared at each other.

He had shoulder length blonde hair that was matted into braids. A large blonde braided beard hung from his chin and he was sporting quite the moustache. He was attractive in a way, but definitely not my type. He reminded me of a lion, actually.

"Come on, I want to go to sleep! Hurry it up and kick her ass Fili," an incredibly rude dwarf demanded. I scowled at the comment, and drew my sword. Fili took a step back, arms raised.

"I cannot fight you," he stated simply. I sneered,

"Oh great. Another big headed dwarf that doesn't think I can fight because I'm a woman. I feel so welcome," I replied sarcastically.

"It's not that. I just don't think you want to be embarrassed. I'm pretty handy with a sword," Fili objected. I laughed coldly,

"Well, handy and skilled are two different things. And many class me in the second category. So, if I were you, I would be more worried about embarrassing yourself."

And with that comment, I charged at him. As an automatic reflex, Fili reached for a bow that was lying on the ground and swung it around to block the blow as he fumbled for his sword. Even though this stopped him from being injured, the bow was immediately snapped in half. He swore ferociously and glared at me dangerously. I shrugged and continued with my attack.

We'd been going on for a few minutes now, while everyone else in the room were deadly silent. Fili knocked me over, and I fell to the ground. I knelt on my hands and knees, panting and catching my breath, as Fili circled me cockily. The dwarves started cheering him on, and, with my head facing the ground so no one else could see, I grinned evilly.

So they thought he had won, did they? They thought wrong.

As Fili moved to stand over me, I quickly spun around and was immediately up on my feet, sword in hand. Fili stood frozen in shock, so I knocked him over. As he struggled to get up, I quickly knocked him down again and straddled him carefully. He stared up at me in shock as I brandished a long, silver dagger and held it to his throat firmly.

I was suddenly very aware of the room's silence. You could've heard a pin drop. Or a head get sliced off…

Fili whimpered very subtly, and in return I smirked slyly at him before beginning to lower my head down towards his. It seemed as if everyone in the room's breath was being held, and I decided to take that to my advantage. My face inched closer and closer to Fili , and I heard the unmistakable sound of his breath hitching violently and then slowing dramatically. A sure sign that he was either nervous or scared.

His eyes widened when our lips were only a few centimetres apart, and that's when I stopped moving my head forward, and instead moved my lips to his ear.

"I win," I whispered into his ear, loud enough for everyone else to hear, my lips brushing his earlobe slightly, before I pulled away suddenly and stood up, extending a helping hand down to him. He scowled at me and knocked my hand away roughly, stood up without my assistance and made a point of brushing himself down aggressively. I was beginning to wonder if this dwarf had any major anger issues….

"I do believe that settles your hesitations of bringing her along," Gandalf said, turning to Thorin with an amused expression on his face. I swear this wizard found everything funny about anyone that was any less 'magical' than him. In a good way of course. He wasn't stuck up or consumed by power, he just found beings that have not lived as long as him and have not had as much experience in life as him's naivety… Amusing. But then again, so did I. Living for a few hundred years kind of impacted that….

"Aneira. Aneira! For goodness sake, Aneira, are you listening to me?!" Gandalf's loud voice shook my out of my thoughts.

"Sure. Let's go with that shall we..." I muttered sarcastically, scowling at him when I broke out of my daze. One of the dwarves, who had long, dark brown hair that fell slightly past his shoulders. Unlike the rest of the dwarves in the room, his facial hair was minimal-he was almost clean shaven. He had dark brown, milky eyes that held my attention immediately, almost as if I was hypnotised. This was... A very handsome dwarf. This dwarf snickered at my comment. But he stopped when he saw the looks on the other dwarves' faces. Damn these guys needed to start smiling more… or get some serious plastic surgery done.

"See! She can't even keep her head and listen to us. Let alone go on our quest. It's ridiculous. I will not allow an elf to come with us. And that's final!" Thorin roared, sitting down at a table and slamming his fist down on it's top fiercely. Everyone in the room flinched and went silent once more. Except for me. Because, of course, I couldn't hold my tongue and just walk out of the room. Oh no. I had to meddle.

"Like you can talk. You have been against elves ever since the capture of Erabor, and it was your fault for that happening anyway. It wasn't Thranduil's fault that he didn't want to risk so many lives for a lost cause. And Thranduil was only the king of the woodland elves. But you have a death wish for all of the elves, everywhere. It's ridiculous. And what's more, you've probably already noticed that I'm not a woodland elf. I'm descendant of a high elf. So technically... I'm not your enemy. Unless you make me really frustrated and are unfair or uncourteous towards me. Which you're doing right now. So I'd suggest putting a sock in it, or you're not going to last through tonight!" I yelled angrily at Thorin, breaking the silence with my ranting and elaborate hand gestures.

Thorin was stunned, due to how I'd just yelled at him, and stared up at me in confusion. A second later, though, a flash or rage flitted across his eyes and he stood up in a rush; knocking his chair over in the process. I stifled a snigger unsuccessfully, gaining a heavier glare. If looks could kill... I would be dead by now. But... Then again... If looks really could kill... These dwarves have already died a few hundred times in this meeting alone.

"She's right," one of the dwarves spoke up suddenly, "you do need to get over your hatred for the elves. We haven't spoke to them for many, many years. Give her a shot. She beat Fili in hand to hand combat, which definitely says something about her fighting skills, and since she's an elf she has many more abilities that she can profide us with. Give her a shot, Thorin!" Thorin turned to the Dwarf angrily and started to stalk up to him ferociously. He looked like he was about to put an axe through his head, and I wouldn't of out it past him if the handsome dwarf who had caught my eye before hadn't spoken up.

"Mahal, Uncle. Let the woman come. Balin is right about your hatred for elves. It's discriminatory, just let her come already," he exclaimed roughly. Agreement chorused through the room and I suppressed a smile.

"Please Uncle," another dwarf, the blonde one that I fought before, pleaded. Thorin glanced around at all of us in the room, before sighing in defeat.

"Okay then, Fili. You may keep the stinking elf," he have in. Before I could celebrate though, he turned on me, pointing a short, grubby finger at me accusingly. "But you. Be careful. Do not take even one step out of line. Or else there will be ME to pay for. And, even more importantly, don't use your elvish nature against this gathering. You may have your bewitching good looks, and you may be a woman, but you shall not seduce any of these men in any way. Or you will have more than me to call to," he threatened darkly. I shrugged innocently and nodded.

"Easy," I agreed. He snorted in content, held eye contact with me for a moment, and then turned to stalk off away down one of the many tunnels of the Hobbit's home. Mumbling something about death to all elves by Wargs and how a nice, comfy bed would be appreciated. Bilbo ran down the tunnel after him, probably to be a good host as usual, and I lost sight of him.

I caught sight of few brown haired dwarf staring at me out of the corner of my eye, and turned to face him warily.

"What?" I snapped.

"You're short for an elf..." He pointed out, his voice questioning.

"And you're clean shaven for a dwarf. So what. Get used to it. I'm going on this quest with you and these dwarves, and you're going to be seeing my face an awful lot the next few months," I retorted. My comment was rude but the tone in my voice teasing. The brown haired dwarf and the dwarf standing next to him (Balin maybe...) obviously picked up on my teasing and each cracked a smile.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Kili," the brown haired dwarf finally introduced, holding out a hand that I shook and introduced myself to him.

"The angry one before was Thorin, and you already met my brother, Fili," motioned to the lion maned dwarf. He then pointed out each of the dwarves one by one and I quickly noted something. About them so that I remembered them.

"Ori." Notebook in his hands. Big nose.  
>"Nori." Impressive hair styling.<br>"Dori." White hair, all braids. Older looking.  
>"Bifur." The axe protruding from his head alarmed me, but he seemed to not be bother by it.<br>"Bofur." He was wearing an awesome hat.  
>"Bombur." Fat. Orange hair. Fat.<br>"Dwalin." Really scary looking.  
>"And Balin." The older dwarf with the epic beard standing with us.<p>

"Welcome to the company of Thorin," the dwarf whom was named Balin exclaimed cheerfully. Many more congratulations and a few death threats followed before all the dwarves Saunderd off to find a room to sleep in. I turned away from the retreating dwarves, only to find Gandalf looking at me happily.

"I knew I would convince them," he announced proudly. I snorted unattractively,

"I think you'll find that I was the one that finally convinced them," I protested. He shrugged and chuckled,

"Minor details. But... Welcome to the company of Thorin Oakenshield," he congratulated, patting me on the back before going the way that all the other dwarves had gone to find a room to sleep in. I stared after him in a trance. This was ridiculous.

"God help me," I muttered as I made my way up the hallways to find an empty room decorated with more yellows and greens. I lay on the white bed, as it was incredibly soft.

Drifting off to sleep, my mind wandered to the adventure at hand and what it held.

And as sleep enveloped me, a certain, clean shaven, dark brown eyed dwarf followed me into my dreams.


End file.
